Fleeting Love
by UsagiGirl
Summary: About the Marauders' days at school. Remus' POV. OC romance, later on, but it takes a while for it to start up.
1. Chapter 1

"Don't...forget..."

A chilling breeze brushed past them, although a blizzard could not have compared with the cold of his heart. It seemed any happiness was so far away: unattainable. And yet, it had happened, back when- How _had_ all this begun? Ah yes...

Two years earlier:

"What is that? Is your lip bleeding?" Remus asked Sirius, who had just walked up to join them, with a look of slight panic spreading across his face.

"What?" Sirius wiped his mouth on his hand. "Nothing! It's nothing! What do we have next, Prongs?" Sirius asked his friend casually.

"How should I know? Moony's the one that remembers all those things... I have to focus on the more important parts of life...like jinxing people!" James replied nonchalantly.

"Speak of the devil...Here's Snivelly, now!" Sirius smirked at the lanky boy approaching them.

"Pssh...not worth my time, today," James sighed, while throwing a spell over his shoulder at Snape after he had passed James.

"So...which class are we going to then?" Peter asked with his usual twitchy movements and sharp voice.

"It's Potions," Remus said. He had the air of someone much older than he was, and looked the part, too: bags were under his hazel eyes, his face was rather pasty, and an expressionless mouth seemed to be eternally on his listless face. The extremities of these attributes were intensified because of the approaching of the full moon. For those of you who don't know, Remus is a werewolf.

"Excellent, a class to doze off in!" James joked.

"James, you shouldn't-" Remus' reprimand was cut short by three people pushing everyone to the side as they rushed past. Two girls were helping a third to hobble through the corridor. The girl in the middle had blood stains on her robes around her shoulder. Blood was dripping onto the ground and showed the path the three had been taking to this point. The injured one suddenly turned her head back at where Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter were standing, and looked wide-eyed briefly. Remus tried to see who she was looking at more clearly, but people seemed to be gathering around the three as they rushed down the hall, making them impossible to see from where he was still standing.

"I wonder what that's all about," Sirius nervously said.

"Let's find out, then!" James suggested.

"What?" Sirius looked petrified. "No, that's okay, I don't really care _that_ much!"

"I want to find out, too!" Peter said cautiously, obviously wanting to see, but not wanting to get Sirius angry at him.

"Oh, come on, Padfoot! Let's go!" James grabbed Sirius' arm and whisked him down the corridor.

"But-but we'll be late for class-and..." Sirius trailed off. Remus and Peter followed the two down the hall and exchanged curious glances. Both were wondering about Sirius' odd behavior. Usually he is the first to want to skip class and find out what's happening to anyone and everyone on the Hogwarts campus.

The mass of students traveled down many corridors and wound up at the Hospital Wing, many of the group leaving to go to class during the journey. A few remained at the door after the girls had gone in, including James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and a boy named Kingsley Shacklebot who was in the year ahead of theirs. They all stood around talking; as they had nothing better to do other than go to class, and, after a while, the two girls who had escorted the injured girl in to the Hospital Wing came out again, looking rather rattled.

"What's the news?" Kingsley asked them as they closed the door gently behind them. "Who was that girl, anyway? I don't think I've seen her before."

"Oh, that's Minette Espoir-Douleur," One of the girls said. The other kept silent and looked rather sick. "She's just transferred here. We found her stumbling out of the forest. We think she got attacked or something. It looks like she was clawed or bitten or stabbed in the neck; it's really bad. There's blood all over her."

Remus glanced at Sirius with a raised eyebrow, but Sirius seemed to have suddenly found a beetle crawling across the floor extremely fascinating. James and Peter didn't seem to have made any connection, but Remus' suspicion was constantly rising. He couldn't say anything here, of course. Not in front of Kingsley and the two girls. They didn't know of Remus' condition, or that the others standing with him were animagus, and if they found out, there would be a lot of trouble. So Remus kept to himself, and nodded along with the conversation, trying to find another excuse that was more plausible as to how this Minette had been injured. A monster in the forest? It was unlikely: they've never just attacked students in the forest before. But wait, why _was_ this Minette girl in the forest? It was against the school rules, after all. Remus became lost in thought further and further until a sudden burst of noise roused him. Class had been let out, and the halls were filled with bustling students once again.

"Oh no!" Peter exclaimed. "We missed _all_ of Potions! I'm already behind on my homework! Professor Diggle's going to _kill_ me!"

"Oh, who cares? Another essay to write, big deal," James said rolling his eyes. James and Sirius wouldn't care, of course. They were top students. Nothing ever gave them any trouble. Peter, on the other hand, was the epitome of mediocrity. He had average grades, average appearance, and average skills in all areas, it seemed. One might say he still had to find his strong suit, but how would he? Peter was surrounded by great friends who would go to any length to help him, as they had done for Remus when they had realized his condition as a werewolf. Not that Remus didn't care for Peter; on the contrary, their friendship was as strong as any of the others'. Still, Remus got the severe impression he was the only one who really saw that Peter was in a state of never having "left the nest."

"What're you thinking so hard about, Moony?" James stuck his head in Remus' view as they all started to walk off to class.

"Nothing, really," Remus replied perhaps too quickly. After he thought they were out of Kingsley and the others' earshot, he turned to Sirius. "Please don't confirm what I'm thinking, dear Padfoot... Please."

"What? I-I don't know what you mean..." Sirius portrayed an obviously forced grin.

"So you're saying that," Remus started counting off points on his fingers, "you, who has never been hexed in your life, showing up with blood on your lip, the girl being bitten and rushed to the Hospital Wing seconds after you arrive, and yourself acting so jumpy for no other reason-those are all odd coincidences?"

James caught on to what Remus was implying, and jumped at him. "What're you trying to say, Moony?" He shot Remus a ferocious look. "It might as well have been you! Your kind are supposed to be violent anyway, but Sirius is _normal_! Who knows what you do in your free time, though! The whole forest could be full of people like-" James clapped a hand over his own mouth. It was obvious to all of them that he had crossed a line, and they had stopped walking. "I-I didn't mean-I mean, but-by _normal_ I didn't mean-"

Remus did not care to hear another of James' excuses. He pushed past the group and walked faster and faster to get away from them as fast as possible. Those words still rang in his head. _Your kind._ He rushed past the doors to the Great Hall and out of the doors of the castle. _Normal. _There were only a scarce few on the lawn, as most people were still going to their last class of the evening before dinner. _Your kind. _Remus tried to push the words out of his mind as he strode into the trees of the forest.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought! I'm open to any suggestions, although the next chapter is already written, I could revise it if something major is brought up.


	2. Chapter 2

Sunset passed by. The night air became silent, and lit windows became less and less numerous.

"R-Remus? Moony, old friend, are-are you in here?"

"I'm surprised you would come. Not afraid I'd murder you in here? I hear 'my kind' are prone to be 'violent.'"

"That-that's not true! James is truly sorry he said that. He didn't even go to dinner, he was so worried."

"Poor him, missing his dinner. I'm sure that's why you all took your sweet time playing at the castle until they decided to send you down here."

"No, really! James thought he-er-didn't _deserve_ to see you. He was so upset!"  
"Really? And what story have you come up with for why Sirius didn't come? Couldn't find his leash?" Every word Remus spoke was engulfed in bitterness.

"No! He just thought, well, we decided, since I'm like a neutral party-I mean, not that I don't agree that James was awful in what he said, of course, but-"

"Go get some sleep and come back with something I give a damn about, Wormtail."

Peter made a small noise like he was going to retort, but seemed to think better of it, and turned and left instead. Remus regretted what he had said only slightly; he was angrier at James and Sirius. He might have been too harsh with Peter just now, and perhaps he should've kept to himself about his suspicions of Sirius, or at least padded his statement a bit, but nothing that he said or could say would ever deserve a response like that from James. So, Remus adjusted his position on the branch of the tree he was perched in, let one of his legs dangle off the branch, closed his eyes, and prepared for sleep under the stars.

Who knows how long it was, Remus might even have dozed off, when a loud snap of a foot breaking a twig echoed through the trees. Remus opened his eyes quickly, but did not move. Most of the creatures here knew of him, in any case, and he was not so far in as to be disturbing any groups of animals. Who would be out at this time, anyway? Remus looked at his watch. 12:47. He probably had been sleeping, then. Remus stretched a bit, then gingerly turned himself over so he could look down to the forest floor below himself.

It was hard to see much on the forest floor on account of the darkness, but shifting shapes could still be picked out from the rest. A dark mass about the size of Remus himself had appeared on the floor below him, although it was very low to the ground. He would have said it was just a rock had different parts of it not been shifting, as though to make itself comfortable. After a minute or so of watching this new being, Remus noticed a rustling in bushes nearby. Small animals about the size of rabbits revealed themselves, and began to cluster around the larger creature. Remus sincerely wished he could see what all of this was more clearly, and tried to think of a way to make this wish come true. An illumination from his wand might startle them all, and if they were hostile, it might not turn out well. No matter how he strained his eyes, they would not reveal more to him. So, with no other option and his curiosity growing by the minute, Remus decided to simply call out.

"Hello?" he said in a firm but cautious voice. "Who are you?" He continued in case it was something that could understand him and speak back.

The larger being jumped up and appeared very startled at his voice. It actually had the build of a person. It looked as if it was looking around for the source of the voice, and then it turned and ran toward the edge of the woods. Remus jumped down from his spot, and followed the creature.

"Wait!" He called out to it. "I didn't mean to startle you! I was just wondering what you-" Remus stopped as he came to the edge of the trees where he was sure the thing had exited, but saw nothing but the grassy grounds to the castle. A few small animals about the size of knarls were scurrying about, but there was no other sign of life on the grounds. Remus sighed to himself and resolved to head back to the castle to continue his sleep, although facing James, Sirius, and Peter was the last thing he wanted to do. Still, it was at least a bit warmer there, and Remus had grown cold from his venture out of the woods.

So Remus took that familiar path inside of the Hogwarts castle to the Gryffindor common room. He still heard James' words ringing in his ears, and they became more persistent the farther into the castle Remus walked. _Sirius is normal._ The fireplace's flames had become but dying embers, and the room held only a few students who had fallen asleep on their text books. _Your kind._ Remus crept his way through the room and up the stairway to his own dormitory. As he strode to his own bed, he heard someone else's rustling sheets and James' face appeared staring at Remus from his own bed. _Your kind._ Remus pretended not to notice this as he unlaced his shoes and put them beside his bed.

"Moony?" James finally whispered. "Can we talk about-"

Remus' response was given with him crawling into bed and closing the curtains behind him without a word. _Your kind are violent. Sirius is normal._ The words beat against Remus like stones and came with every blink, every sound, every thought. They etched themselves into his head and then left him with only silence and despair as he drifted into restless sleep.

I hope you're enjoying this story so far! Just for the record, every character (save Minette) legally belongs to J.K. Rowling. Even the names I mention in passing have been thought up by her and written into her books. Every. Single. One. Now that that's over with, keep reading, and don't forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

Remus woke early the next morning, somehow not tired, and headed off to breakfast early. There were only a few early risers in the Great Hall, but Remus preferred the quiet of it to the normal noisy chatter, as it gave him time to sort over his thoughts and feelings. He was wondering if he should wait for James to apologize first; Remus himself had practically accused Sirius of murder, so maybe he was in the wrong. This train of thought was interrupted by a blonde haired girl collapsing into the seat next to Remus, her bag bulging out at odd angles.

"Good morning," Remus said unfocusedly.

"Good morning!" was her cheery reply. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet! What's your name?"

_Doesn't know of me? James and Sirius' names are always buzzing the school,_ Remus thought, _usually with Peter or my name tagged on the end. _Nevertheless, he replied back to her, not wanting to make a bad impression on someone who was unspoiled of the rumors that were constantly passing the school about Remus. "I'm Remus Lupin. And you are..?"

"Minette Espoir-Douleur! I just transferred here! It's nice to meet you, Remus!"

Remus nearly choked on the bit of toast he had been munching on. Minette. She was the one who had started this all, when she was injured in the Forest. Remus felt a pang of anger toward her, but then reasoned that it wasn't really her fault that he had stirred up trouble with Sirius and James. It really was Remus' own fault. The only friends that he'd ever had...and he had probably ruined it. His hazel eyes became dull and full of grief. Minette, however, hadn't seemed to notice.

"I was wondering, how do things work around here? I haven't been to any classes yet. You see, I was attacked in the woods, and-"

"Attacked? Were you really?" Remus marveled. "I mean, yes, my friends and I heard what happened from those girls that helped you to the hospital wing."

"Yes, well, I'm still confused about it... it seems such a blur."

Lupin wasn't entirely convinced by this, but he had enough to think about, and didn't want to get in another nasty situation by jumping to conclusions. That had gotten him far enough.

"But," Minette's voice cut into Remus' thoughts once more, "I was wondering if you could help me figure out where some of my classes are. I've been put in Gryffindor, and today I have, um," she looked at her schedule, "Potions first."

"Yes," Remus said with a half-false cheeriness, "I'm in Gryffindor, as well, and we have all our classes together. We can get started now, if that's okay, and I could show you around a bit before class."

"That'd be great!" Minette's blue eyes widened and sparkled. "Thank you so much, Remus!"

The two of them walked off into the castle together. Remus showed Minette how to get to some of their later classes, and described the classes to her. "You could be a teacher, yourself, Remus!" Minette teased him. When the time rolled around, they headed down to the Potions dungeon where many of the Gryffindors and Slytherins were assembled.

"Hello, there, Moo-er-Remus!" James called out as he saw them approaching. "Have you gotten new friends to replace us, then?"

Remus could not exactly tell if James was joking or not, so he chose to ignore this comment. "This is Minette, she just came here and got put in Gryffindor with us. Minette, this is James, Sirius, and Peter," Remus said as he gestured toward each of them. He saw Sirius go slightly pale again, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Nice to meet you, Minette," Sirius said with his normal amount of cool reinstated.

"Nice to meet you all," Minette smiled and nodded her head.

"Stop all the chatter now!" Professor Diggle's strong voice boomed across the classroom. "Your instructions are on the board, partner up, and get started."

"Remus took his normal seat with Peter, then realized Minette would not have a partner. But Remus couldn't leave Peter; he wasn't mad at him, really, and the situation was bad enough. Luckily, Kingsley's partner was gone that day, so he gladly became her partner. Remus felt relief sweep over him as this happened. This was too many friendships to be at risk at once. He felt like he was trying to make several potions at once, and they were all bubbling over the brim. Most people would not become so stressed over a matter like this, especially the people he was thinking of. James and Sirius were loved by everyone in the school, and Minette seemed to be very friendly and extroverted. For Remus, though, this was always at the front of his mind. His lycanthropy had kept him from going outside very much, let alone making friends. When Professor Dumbledore had persuaded the headmaster to let Remus attend the school, it seemed more than he had ever imagined his life could amount to. Then he had managed to make friends, and keep them even after his façade had dissolved. So, naturally, when this idyllic state was threatened, Remus diverted as much attention to it as he could. He often overanalyzed, even, and threatened the situation further. Remus was still trying to sort things out, but then remembered he was supposed to be concocting a potion with Peter, and hurriedly started to work.

His and Peter's potions turned out rather well. They were not the opaque emerald-like color that they were supposed to be exactly, but Remus was sure that they would get a good enough grade. At the end of the class, all of them picked up their books and left the classroom together. None of them talked in-between classes, and Remus continued to fret about their argument. After their third class, they had a break and all went to their normal spot under the beech tree on the grass. Remus felt his stomach clench. _This,_ he thought, _would have to be the deciding moment. Should I bring it up, or just talk normally..?_

"So, Minette," James broke the silence, "we heard about that nasty wound you got. Are you feeling better?"

"Oh, yes, much!" Minette replied, happily as ever, apparently unaware of the tension between the others she sat with. "That Madame Pomfrey of yours is wonderful! I so prefer magic medicines to muggle ones!"

"Oh, are you a muggle-born, then?" Sirius asked with interest.

"Half and half. My father's a wizard, but my mother's a muggle."

"That's interesting. Say, where were you going to before you came to Hogwarts? It's not common for someone to transfer here."

"I was going to a smaller boarding school in the U.S., actually. But I came here because they had to shut down. I think they had money issues." Minette added thoughtfully. "But I like it here better. This is my home country, after all!"

The five of them chatted for a while longer, told a little about themselves, although not too much on Remus' part. After quite a while Minette jumped up.

"I have to go finish some of the make up work! I completely forgot, but since I missed the first two days, I had to write an essay for History of Magic! I'll see you all later!" All of them had jumped up when Minette did, and now relaxed slightly as she took a few strides away.

"Heh. Any second now," Sirius muttered so only Remus, Lupin, and James could here him.

"What are you talking about, Sirius?" Remus looked confusedly at his friend.

"You really think a girl like her could really talk to all of us attractive guys and not ask one of us out? She's playing it nonchalant. Any second, she'll turn around, call out one of our names, run over, and ask whoever out. Probably me. She was eyeing me the entire time, didn't you notice?"

Sirius gave a sort of subtle 'I-told-you-so' look and put on his most charming smile as Minette turned around just as Sirius had predicted and called out "Oh, Sirius!"

She strode back over to him, looking-wait, was she _angry_? Maybe it was all in Remus' head. She came closer and closer to Sirius, and then-

WHAM.

Sirius had been slapped. Not just slapped, slapped in the _face_. His flawless face now had a large, red handprint on it. Sirius looked as though he had been-well-slapped in the face. Remus thought Sirius could not have been more insulted if James had slapped him instead of Minette. She, it was clearer now, looked very angry, and leaned in so that she was whispering in Sirius' ear, although the others could hear her.

"I suggest that if you're an unregistered animagus and have just attacked a girl in the woods, you _don't_ transform in front of her."

Sirius' face looked slightly less insulted just to make room on it for a panicked look. "Wait," He said, grabbing her arm. "You are not to tell anyone of that!" he practically yelped at her.

"Oh, of course I won't!" Minette said, her anger disappearing and her voice almost apologetic. "I'm not stupid, you could go to Azkaban! Anyway, that was just something for you to think about." Minette strode off once again to the castle.

UsagiGirl: I hope you're enjoying it all so far! I've had this part about Minette hitting Sirius in my head for quite a while, and, although it doesn't quite fit in with her personality, I had to include it. Please review, it really means a lot to me!


	4. Chapter 4

Remus and Peter immediately burst out laughing. Sirius looked more confused, insulted, and outraged than they had ever seen him. James, however, looked rather annoyed at Sirius.

"Are you actually saying," James said, angrily, "that you really _were_ the one who attacked her in the woods? Are you _mad_?"

"I-it-she was-" Sirius stammered sheepishly.

"My God," James said, his eyes slightly glazed as the events of the last two days were brought into new light, "Remus, I-I'm so sorry... I wasn't thinking, and I..." James' voice trailed off as Remus was forced to think about what had been said once more. '_Your kind...' No._ A voice in his head said firmly to the memories pushing at the barriers of his thoughts. _It will be behind us now. I won't have to think about it anymore, and-_ A second voice cut into his thoughts, _but he still said it, didn't he? Just saying he's sorry doesn't mean he didn't mean what he said..._ Remus shook all of the thoughts from his head and returned to face James, who was now looking disgusted with himself.

"Look, mate, it's alright. I was wrong to jump to any conclusions about Sirius," Remus said, putting his hand on James' shoulder, "and I am truly sorry, Sirius," He said, turning to his other good friend. "You all have trusted me in far worse situations, and I should have-"

"But you were right, weren't you?" Sirius interrupted Remus' apology. The tension grew between them all, none of them knowing what to say to another.

Peter, who did not have any real place in the situation other than being a witness, broke the silence timidly. "So, what really happened, then, Sirius?"

Silence remained for a few more moments, and then Sirius began to talk. "Remember when we went into the forest last full moon?" Sirius quieted his voice after a warning look from Remus. "Yes, well, I lost something in the woods, and it was rather important, so I had to go back again..."

"What was it that was so important?" James asked Sirius.

"Well, you know my Uncle Alphard died a while ago, and he left me a vault with a load of money in it, and I somehow dropped the key. I was trying to remember where I last had it, so I went to the forest, of course as a dog so that I wouldn't be seen, you know..."

Remus shook his head in disbelief of Sirius' foolishness, and noticed James said something under his breath that sounded oddly like "you idiotic overgrown puppy..." Remus laughed inwardly.

"So _anyway_," Sirius continued, ignoring their comments, "I saw this little rabbit hopping around the side of a tree, and, I don't know what it was, really, but I felt like chasing it... it was like my animal part took over."

Sirius' solemn face, a rare occurrence, was revealed, although James made light of the situation by commenting, "I'll have to watch out for that! I could be jumping in front of cars the next time I turn into a stag..." Remus and Sirius did not understand this, having grown up in highly magical areas, but Peter chuckled and James smirked at his own joke, both of them having grown up near-by to muggles.

"Yes, so, I was chasing this rabbit-thing, and it kept getting away, but I finally turned one corner and jumped after it, and it was gone," Sirius carried on with his story. "But the odd thing was, this girl was there, and when I had lunged, I sort of hit her, and..." Sirius gulped. "You all know the rest, I suppose."

"So, you're saying that you went out in broad daylight transformed, attacked another student, and transformed back in front of her, even though you're an unregistered animagus?" James asked incredulously.

Sirius gulped again. "Yes, that's it in a nutshell, I suppose."

"But did you find the key to the gold?" James said with a grin.

"Ye-yes!" Sirius looked relieved that James had taken this so well. "I'm going to buy myself a flat as soon as I find a good enough one!"

Sirius, James, and Peter went on talking about gold and good areas to live in for the rest of their break, and then headed off to class when the time came. Remus remained silent and mulling over Sirius' story in his mind. Something about it didn't seem to make sense, but he couldn't put his finger on it, exactly. Remus was more focused, though, on thinking about how Sirius had caused him, indirectly, to almost lose his friends, as had happened a few times before. And, as had happened every other time, Remus had been neglected in the end, and Sirius had been automatically forgiven.

If you hadn't figured it out yet, I'm making Remus rather bitter, or more, I'm trying to explain why he should have been more bitter than he was... I hope you like it! This one was kind of short, so I'm putting up the next chapter with it. R&R! 


	5. Chapter 5

Remus had always accepted this as a part of life. James and Sirius were closer than anyone else in the school could hope to be, and the few times that their bond thinned from anger, it was almost immediately repaired, even if it was at the expense of another. Remus didn't much care, though. It always did bother him slightly, but he was more happy that they were all back to normal. Remus was especially relieved, as the Moon was waxing once more. The next few days passed as normal, and the four hung around with Minette a while longer.

"Oh, by the way," Minette whispered one day while they were all in the library. "are you all going to that Hogsmeade place next weekend? I was wondering if you could show me around."

The four boys exchanged glances. That weekend was a full moon. They could not possibly go; they had to stay with Remus. _Well, they don't have to,_ Remus thought, _I can't blame them for wanting to show her around. I can spend one full moon on my own, after all, I did years alone before they became animagi. _Remus kept telling himself that, and really believed it. He really couldn't hold it against them. It would really be a way to keep Minette from finding out Remus' secret.

Nevertheless, when James said, "Of course we will!" In such a wonderfully cheery voice, Remus' stomach did a kind of clenched flip.

"Oh, thank you!" Minette said smiling, again unaware of the unease she was causing Remus. "Is it really fun, then?"

"Oh yes, there are all sorts of wonderful shops, there!" Peter said.

"And there's this one place," James said with a sly grin, "called the Shrieking Shack. It's this horribly haunted place where there are spirits so evil, even ghosts are afraid to go." Remus snorted laughter at James' false terror. "You can hear the evil beings there shrieking at night sometimes..."

Minette did not seem to know whether James was serious or not, and squirmed in her chair uneasily. "Oh...alright..." She said, apparently still confused about whether to be scared or amused. "I have to go get my books for class," Minette said picking up her completed Divination essay, "so I'll catch you guys later." As soon as she had shuffled out of the library, James, Sirius, and Peter started laughing, although quietly so that they didn't get hushed by the librarian. Remus smiled weakly, but his thoughts were still on the next full moon.

They all sat silently for a while longer, engrossed in their homework. When the bell rang, the four got up and walked out of the door and back to the Gryffindor common room. Peter, Sirius, and James chattered away while Remus took up the pensiveness he had been assuming so much recently.

"Why're you always looking so serious, Moony?" James asked, noticing this after a while. "You need to have more fun. Want to walk the grounds next weekend?"

"James," Remus started accusingly, "You know that we shouldn't-wait, what? I thought you lot were going to show Minette around Hogsmeade!"

Sirius barked laughter. "You really think we'd leave you alone on a full moon? Fat chance!"

"But, she'll be waiting for you all..."

"We'll just say that we have to go to a funeral, or we're sick or something," Peter said indifferently. "It worked for you that first year," he added with a grin.

The corners of Remus' mouth twitched into what could have become a smile, had the subject not been the painful monthly activity of deformation of his body to become a monster.

"Thank you, guys," Remus said earnestly, "so, so much. Although we really shouldn't go of through the grounds, especially since it's a Hogsmeade weekend. Students will be going all over the grounds all evening."

I hope you all are still enjoying this! It's turning out to be a long story, because I don't want to jump into anything. Relationships more often happen from with long periods of friendship preceding them, but I'll cut it a bit shorter (one or two more chapters, maybe) so that this doesn't end up resembling Little Women. Anyway, please keep reading and don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh, I see," Minette's face fell. James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus had just told her that they had fallen ill. "I suppose it's best you all stay inside, then. It is rather cold out."

"Thanks for understanding," James said with a grin.

Minette turned to leave, then spun back around. "You know what?" she said with a determined look. "You all shouldn't stay here alone while you're sick? I'll stay and take care of you!"

"Oh, no!" Sirius said a bit too quickly.

"Yes, that's quite alright!" Peter added, his voice rising even higher than usual. "I'm sure we can manage! We've already gotten a bit of medicine, and it's only a cold..."

"No, really! I wouldn't have fun without you all at Hogsmeade, anyway! I'll just wait for the next trip," Minette said cheerfully.

"Really," said Remus, his worry growing, "you have to go. I mean, it's a great experience, this time of year. We won't be any fun, anyway. We'll probably just be sleeping."

"Well," Minette conceded, "I guess, if you insist..." She walked off looking slightly hurt.

Remus felt sorry for her, but decided that it was worth it to keep his secret. "She just wouldn't give up, would she? Stubborn girl..." James joked.

The four went up to their dormitory and waited for evening to come. Remus packed a few changes of clothes into a small bag for the next few days. As the sun started to slink into the sky, Remus stood and turned to James. "Could I use your invisibility cloak? I don't want to risk being seen with all the people about tonight."

"No problem," James said, handing the silvery cloth to his friend. "We'll be down in a few, Moony. See you at the Shack."

Remus walked down to the Whomping Willow as it whipped its branches around, threatening as ever. He froze the tree with a stick that had been on the ground and lowered himself into the passageway to the Shrieking Shack.

Upon arriving at the dilapidated house, Remus made his way to the central room, closing the few drapes that had been pushed to the side on his way. He sat on the ragged couch and waited for the inevitable to take place.

James, Sirius, and Peter had arrived in only a few minutes, as they had promised. They had transformed and then watched their friend do likewise. Remus' memory was, as it always was, full of gaps from that point on. He remembered his skin being slashed at by himself, his friends pinning him against a wall to come to himself a bit, and then just running and playing foolish games for the rest of the night.

Remus woke the next morning curled on the floor of an upper room. His robes had been torn in several places, and James, Sirius, and Peter were still transformed and sleeping around him. He slipped down the creaking stairs and back to a small closet of the house, where he had hidden needles and thread to repair his robes after transformations. It really was useless, as there were many more nights to go where his robes would be torn, but it kept him occupied while he had nothing to do but wait for the moon to come again. Peter was the first to wake and walk down the stairs groggily.

"What time is it?" he asked Remus, stifling a yawn.

"Nearly nine," was the uninterested reply from Remus.

"Goodness!" Peter exclaimed, his eyes widening. "We've got to get to class!"

Peter shuffled back up the stairs to wake Sirius and James while Remus kept sewing. The other three hurried downstairs again and rushed off to class with only a quick "Good morning!" to Remus. Remus himself was feeling rather restless. He did not want to be cooped up in this stupid house. He had to get out. He changed into clean robes, laid the pair he had just been mending in his bag, got a cloak for warmth from the brisk autumn wind, and set out. He couldn't go back to Hogwarts; someone would see him and know that he should be in class. His only option was to go into Hogsmeade. Remus found a window that had been shut since it was built, it seemed and wrenched it open. He closed it again, as not to leave a sign that someone had been there, and set off toward the town.

This was a feeling of freedom that Remus had never known during the time of a full moon. He wandered through the streets, not going into any shops or restaurants. If he was seen in one, he surely would be asked why he wasn't in class and who he was, and the headmaster would give him loads of trouble. Even without these excursions, the town provided a lovely break from classes and transformations. It grew warmer in the afternoon, but it was still cool and pleasant.

He decided, after a while, that he should go back to the Shrieking Shack again. He made his way back and around to the side of the house that wasn't visible from the village and climbed back through the window. As he shut and latched it behind him again, a flurry of activity took him by great surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"You're back! Sirius, he's back-"

"COULD HAVE BEEN SEEN-COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED-"

"We're so glad! We thought you might have been in trouble or something, and-"

Remus was nearly knocked off his feet by this. The first voice was James' the second, Peter's. James was positively fuming, Peter looked incredibly relieved, and Sirius had just walked into the room munching on a biscuit.

"See? He's back! Just needed to stretch his legs a bit? Can you blame him? Cooped up inside all the time...I would have left a lot earlier..." It seldom happened, but at that moment, Remus was very grateful to hear Sirius' voice.

As it turned out, the three of them had come over earlier to bring Remus some food, and wait with him for night to fall. When they discovered him missing, James went into a frenzy, Peter thought he had been kidnapped, and Sirius believed Remus had simply taken a walk.

"What if you had been seen? What were you thinking?" James hollered at Remus again. "You're usually so sensible; I can not fathom what was going through your head!"

"You try being trapped up all the time. Every month, for days... My own mother wouldn't let me go outside at all! I just sat inside, day after day! I thought coming here would be different! I thought I'd get a chance to be free. But here I am, trapped again, and-" Remus suddenly realized what he was saying. He had been spilling out all of the anger that had been growing inside of him for his whole life. He turned from the three who were staring at him now. "Just...leave me tonight."

The three turned and walked out of the room. James stopped beyond the door, turned as if to say something, but then shut the door and walked away.

And so came that horrid night of transformation: the first that Remus had experienced alone for five years.

I hope you're liking it! Romance will DEFINITELY be in the next chapter! Some have already said that James was mean, so...sorry! Keep reading (once the next chapter's up) and please review!


	7. Chapter 7

The next few days Remus was alone, as well. Maybe his friends thought he wanted them away. Maybe they were scared to come back. During the day, Remus would stay inside and reflect on what was going on in his life, and during the night, he would transform.

After the last night of the full moon, Remus got his all of his things back together, and set off toward the castle again. When he reached it, it was midday and a Thursday. He went to his dormitory without encountering anyone and lay down on his bed. He was very tired from all of the energy he had been exerting during transformations, and was excused from classes for the rest of the day by the headmaster anyway. He pulled the hangings shut around him and lay down to rest.

To his own horror, Remus dreamt a horrid memory from his childhood. First he was walking down a well-known corridor to a very familiar room; it was that room that he had spent his childhood in. "_Stay here, Remus! You can't go outside!_" a familiar female voice was hissing into his ear. "_Don't do this to the boy, it can't be healthy-_" another familiar voice was arguing with the first, but Remus knew who would win. "_He's different than the others! He could be dangerous!_" the first voice, his mother's bickered back. "_He's fine. He's the same as before he was bitten! Nothing's changed and he's STILL OUR BOY!_" The second voice, his father's usually confident tone, was strained and frantic. His mother had stopped pulling Remus along for just a second as they reached the end of the hallway where the room was when she looked to her husband with cold eyes. "_Stay here, Remus,_ she was repeating,_ forever._" His mother threw him into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

That room was forever fixed into his memories: the tall ceiling stretching far beyond his reach, the three candles putting forth a vain effort to light the room, the deep scratches that had been made during so many full moons in that room. Remus had not been there only for that time, no, he was there for the entire year. His father sometimes snuck him out of the house when his mother wasn't watching to take a brisk walk through the trees nearby or snuck into the room with him to give him company during one of those long days. Little by little, furnishings were moved into the room to be made his permanent home. There was nothing significant, but a small bed, clothes, and a few old books that no one else had a place to put. Food was brought to him, of course, and Remus adapted to this.

He didn't realize that there was an alternative, of course, having only lived normally for a few years before he was bitten. He didn't hold it against his parents when he found out that this wasn't normal, though. It must be his fault, he told himself. He was the one who had been bitten, of his own stupidity. He had only been playing outside of the house when the bite came. A wolf ran out of the woods, and he tried to fight it off when it came at him. He swung a fallen branch at it, but the wolf dodged past his meager defense and attacked him.

So, really, sitting in that room for years, and now, again, in his dreams, it was no one's fault but his own. How could it be anything else?

Remus opened his eyes and lay on his back, staring vacantly at the orange light that was reflecting into the room and through the wall hangings. That memory had been resurfacing often lately. He wondered, as he always did after seeing it in a dream, if James, Sirius, and Peter thought he was a monster, too. It often seemed like it was all a joke to them, and that they didn't really understand how horrible a werewolf was. They had made it so that he could recognize them even when transformed. It was probably a phase they were going through, Remus decided, where they just thought things like werewolves were fun and cool. It would pass, and they would realize what a horrible beast he was, and shun him. This was not much of a happy insight except that Remus could be happy for at least the time the phase lasted, which was should be at least for the rest of this year.

He got up and walked down to the common room where there was a great deal of activity of people chatting, warming their bodies by the fire, and doing their homework for the night. Remus made his way over to a corner where his friends were hunched over in desks doing their homework. They did not notice him approach, and continued scribbling away furiously as Remus leaned over Peter's shoulder and looked at his paper.

"Peter, you should know enough about gillyweed by now to not have write that big! We've been studying it for nearly a week!"

The three boys jumped at Remus' voice, but turned around and smiled at him when they got over their surprise. Remus took a seat with them and they continued with their homework in mostly silence, interjected by questions or thoughts about their essays. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and Remus went to bed more or less content.

The four woke up at the same time and gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast before their first class. Sirius told Remus how they had told Minette that Remus' illness had worsened when the rest of them got better, and that she had accepted this easily. Remus, Sirius, and James headed off to Divination while Peter stayed behind at the Great Hall. He'd dropped the class after their O.W.L.s, and had never been very good at it, anyway. When they took their seats, Remus paired with Minette, and James with Sirius.

"Feeling better?" Minette asked with a smile.

"Much," Remus said, smiling back at her. The room filled with chatter until Professor Dearborn strode in and gave a silencing bark of "Settle down, now!"

"Now, today, we'll be starting our study of the Western Zodiac," he informed the class while passing out guides to each pair. Remus had always thought that this aspect of Divination was complete rubbish. How could people thousands of years ago determined how large groups of people would act for the rest of time? "You will do an analysis of your partner's sign and the qualities of this sign." He finished handing out the guides and started to walk around the room to survey the students' work.

"So, which sign are you, Remus?" Minette asked, picking up the book that had been given to them. Remus leaned over to see the guide, having no idea what he was. They looked down the list, and found that he was a Cancerian. "'Emotional, intuitive, shrewd, protective, and sympathetic,'" Minette read, "'but also changeable, brood on insults, overemotional, clinging, and unable to let go.' That's a pretty good summary!" Remus agreed. It was really quite accurate. "Let's see what else," Minette continued. "You're a water sign, your sun stone is the pearl, Cancer is a crab, of course, your metal is silver, and...you are ruled by the Moon." Minette finished reading this and looked up at Remus as his stomach gave a little lurch. This was oddly accurate...maybe this zodiac business wasn't complete rubbish after all.

"Remus, could I talk to you for a minute?" Minette gave her cheery little smile as Remus stopped and James, Sirius, and Peter walked on without them.   
"Sure," Remus said uncertainly. "What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering," Minette seemed suddenly out of breath and her face flushed slightly, "if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me. As, you know, a date?"

Remus just stood still for a moment. This had taken him by complete surprise. "I-well," he stammered. Minette looked rather tense and anxious, like she was ready to flee if something went wrong. "Of course!" he said to her, finally finding his voice. "I'd love to!"

The two of them relaxed slightly, smiled, and walked off in opposite directions to their classes.

I am SO SORRY that I haven't updated in so long! I threw in that last bit to get the beginning of the romance going. I'll try to update more often! I'm hoping that Remus isn't too angsty...I was crying while I wrote his memory... ;; Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and please review!


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh! The sun is setting! Do you mind if we sit and watch?"

"Of course not," Remus said, sitting down on the soft grass next to Minette as the sun turned the sky golden-orange, matching the fallen leaves littering the ground around them.

"It's so pretty to watch. I used to watch it all the time with my mother…" Minette's voice trailed off.

"What-what happened to her?" Minette had mentioned her mother only a few times, their first date in Hogsmeade was one of them, and it seemed to be a bit of a painful subject for her.

"Well… did I ever tell you I had a sister? She was five years older than me, and my mother loved us both…" Minette wasn't looking right at Remus, but staring off into the setting sun. "She used to love animals so much! My sister, I mean. She would play with all sorts of animals and try to get me to, too, but I was always too scared…" Minette gave a weak kind of smile, still not looking Remus in the eyes. "Anyway, my mother was fine with my dad being a wizard and all, but she wasn't really happy about it, so he barely ever used magic, especially in front of me and my sister. My mother was always really hoping that neither of us would be magical. My sister wasn't, either, and she was very happy… but then the day I got letters inviting me to school. She was so, so upset. So she left. Just like that. She took my sister, and they both got on a boat to France, where her family lives." Minette turned her head and looked Remus in the eye. Her blue-grey eyes were filled with tears. "And the boat crashed, and I never saw them again."

Remus embraced Minette as she fell on his shoulder, crying. He closed his eyes to the sky, now very bright and turning pink, and comforted Minette until she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Remus, with nothing else to think about now, was left with a painful ball of guilt lodged in his stomach. Minette obviously trusted him a great deal, now, and things were becoming more and more serious in their relationship. Yet he still hadn't told her he was a werewolf. Remus never remembered being so happy, but he was also left with this horrible guilt whenever he was left to think. He didn't want to lose this state of such happiness, and he feared Minette's response if he told her. Still, Remus hated keeping something so big from her, and if they got any more serious, he would hurt her far too much. As the sun's last ray of light faded from the horizon, Remus gently picked up Minette and started back to the castle, with the firm thought in his mind that he would tell Minette on their very next date.

"Remus, you look tired!" Sirius pointed out the next morning at breakfast. "You've got to get to bed earlier instead of staying up all night kidnapping girls and doing such indecent things with them…"

"What?" Remus, James, and Peter shouted all together.

"That's right! I saw our very own Moony-yes, OUR MOONY- carrying Minette back into the common room way way WAY after dark! Tell us, what WERE you two doing so late?" Sirius exclaimed melodramatically wiggling his eyebrows far more than was necessary.

"She fell asleep and I carried her back from Hogsmeade," Remus explained, rolling his eyes and grabbing a piece of toast.

"Oh," Sirius said, and for a minute it seemed like he'd lost the battle. But Sirius doesn't give up so easily. "So, what were you doing that made her so tired? It wasn't that late…" At this point Peter cracked up, and James was staring at Remus with an expression of great pride.

"Bugger off," Remus said, spreading strawberry jam on his toast.

"THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE AIR THAT NIGHT! THE STARS WERE BRIGHT!" Sirius started belting at the top of his lungs, "FERNANDOOO-" Sirius was silenced by Remus' toast smacking him in the face. James stared in awe. Peter stopped giggling and did likewise. Remus muttered "idiots" at them, rose from the table, and strode out of the great hall.

Ok, I hope you're enjoying this! Please review! I hope I didn't lose anyone over the lengthy lack of back! Leave a review, please, and keep reading!


	9. Chapter 9

_This is it._ Remus thought as he and Minette sat at a small table at the Three Broomsticks. The holidays had come and gone, and Remus had finally forced himself to sit down with Minette, and now he was going to tell her. There was a light snow falling outside the large windows and many cheerful friends and couples chatting, blissful and unaware of anything away from their own conversations. Minette looked tense and slightly worried, probably from the gloom that Remus seemed to be soaked in. _I've got to tell her sooner or later. Nothing can last forever._

"I need to tell you something Minette," Remus began, "but I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone else about it, ever. I'll understand if you hate me, or if you never want to talk to me again, but I think that you need to know."

"What is it?" Minette looked fearful and her eyes grew larger and reflected the firelight.

"Do you-do you swear that you won't tell anyone?" Remus felt a lump growing in his throat and tried to keep the feeling down.

"Of course," Minette was gripping her hands tightly, looking more scared then ever.

"I-I'm a werewolf. I was bitten when I was a young child, and I've been one ever since. That's where I go to every month; Professor Dumbledore made the Shrieking Shack for me to go to every month. That's why Sirius is an animagus. Peter and James are, too. They can come with me that way, and not be hurt," Remus said all of this rather quickly, saying more than he really meant to. He bit his lip for a second, and then spoke again. "I understand that you'll never want to see me again. I thought you had a right to know. Just please don't tell anyone…"

He rose from his chair as Minette stayed in her chair, staring at her hands, tears welling in her eyes. Remus turned and started to walk away, his head heavy and spinning when he heard, though it seemed distant, the scrape of a chair on the floor. Minette's arms suddenly wrapped around him in a hug, and her forehead rested against the back of his head.

"I love you, Remus," She said through her tears. "I love you…and nothing can change that. You're stupid to think this could…so stupid..." Remus turned around and returned her embrace, tears spilling from his eyes, too.

"I love you, too, Minette," Remus said to her, leaning his head against hers. They stood like this, in each other's arms, in one of the few truly happy times they would ever have with one another.

I really hope you all like this chapter. Although it's short, and I know I could never get it perfect, this is one of my favorite parts. I thought it up before I had most of the story in mind. Please review and tell me what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

Remus walked back into the common room alone to find Sirius, James, and Peter all sitting by the fire. Sirius looked up when he came in and called him over.

"So, how'd it go?" James asked in a low voice when Remus came over.

"She said…she didn't care," Remus answered slowly. Everything still seemed a confused blur to him. "She said that she would stay with me anyway…"

"That's great! I always knew she was a good one!" James smiled. "Except for that day she nearly broke the bristles on the end of my broomstick when she tripped over Sirius' books. So she's definitely got a mean streak in her…"

"You two are ruining the Marauder name!" Sirius joked. "We're supposed to be solitary and only depend on one another. Remember that oath we took when we all met?"

"No," said James, Peter, and Remus together.

"Well, maybe that was just me then…"

"Wait, why is Prongs 'ruining the Marauder name'?" Remus asked, confused.

"He's got a date," Peter explained, grinning. "Lily's finally caved."

"I did not cave!" Lily said, hearing them and walking over. "I just…decided that James wasn't so bad. And if he's going to keep pestering me anyway, why shouldn't I get a meal or two out of it?"

"She caved," Sirius mouthed behind Lily's back.

"I'll see you in a few days."

"Yes, and you'll see me between then, too."

"Minette, check your calendar," Remus said quietly. "It's a full moon if you hadn't noticed. James and Peter and Sirius and I are all going to the Shack, remember?"

"Yes," Minette replied, staring calmly back at him, "and I'm going to come, too."

"You can't, don't be ridiculous," Remus sighed.

"Yes, I can. I haven't told you something, Remus, though I though you might've guessed. I'm already an animagus, like the rest of them."

"You- what? Since when?"

"I started learning when I was eleven and started school. I wanted to be more like my sister, or to have something to remember her by, since she always liked animals…I don't know." Minette explained. "It took me four years to learn how properly, and another year to get registered so young, and all. I turn into a rabbit. So I can come, too, now, right? You said you can't hurt animals."

"Well, no, but…you'll be too small. You'll get hurt," Remus argued.

"Peter gets smaller than I do! I'll stay out of the way! I just want to be there, please?" she pleaded.

"If…if you're sure. I really can't control what I do or anything…so, just be careful," Remus consented. Minette smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks! I promise I won't be in the way or anything!" Minette's eyes lit up with emotion. "Oh, one more thing, now you know. Back at the beginning of the year, the day before you met me, was it you who was in the trees in the forest that one night? Do you remember that?" A look of confusion crossed Remus' face before a dawning comprehension.

"Oh, yes…I'd forgotten about that! Was that you, then? In the woods, with all the little animals?"

"Yeah. I was nervous and couldn't sleep, so I went to feed the rabbits. I didn't know the forest was full of big, scary animals then." Minette shuddered at the thought. "I got scared when you talked and transformed once I was out of the forest. I thought you were something that was trying to eat me or something!" She gave a shaky laugh before turning to leave the common room, but spun around again. "Hey, can I ask you something about this summer?"

Most of you had probably figured the whole animagus thing out already, but I thought I needed to include it and an explanation and all. Subtlety, I think, is not my strongest suit.

I'm so sorry it's taken so long for a decent update! I feel really bad, so I'm posting two new chapters (this one included), totaling about four and a half pages. Which really doesn't sound that impressive written out like that, but it's much more than any of my recent chapters. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, keep reading, and, of course, leave a review!


	11. Chapter 11

A demon. That had to be it. Remus had been possessed by a demon. No other force could have made him agree to this. His stomach felt like it was being used to tie up a Christmas present, and a lump about the size of Ireland was setting up camp in his throat. He slowly beat his head against the train window as Peter rambled on and on about how his summer vacation would be filled with fantastic relaxation and no stress and not meeting Minette's father. Well, not that last one specifically, but it rather went without saying.

"…And then I'll come over and stay with you for a week or two, James!" Peter beamed as though he'd just solved the mystery of King Tutankhamen's death.

"That's great, Wormtail," Sirius said. "It might've been more interesting if you hadn't been bragging since March, though."

"Moony, you alright?" James asked looking sideways at Remus, who was still rhythmically beating his head on the window.

"If you love me, kill me," Remus pleaded to James.

"Sorry, my heart belongs to Lily alone," James replied. "Honestly, though, it won't be that bad. Unless she gets mad at you for sending her to another compartment," he added.

"That was Sirius who sent her away, and I'm sure she's giggling with some of her friends who are plotting my demise, should I live through this summer."

"Hey, there's not any more room in here, don't say it like it's my fault," Sirius argued.

"There would be if you weren't laying across those three seats," Peter said reasonably, "Though even if she did sit there, your ego might suffocate her."

James and Remus sniggered while Sirius tried to look indignant. "That's one for Wormtail," James said, smiling.

"And how many have I got, then?" Sirius asked.

"We stopped counting yours when we couldn't decide if flashing McGonagall was worse for you or for her, remember?" Remus said, wincing at the memory.

"Oh yeah… you know, it really was her fault for not eating those turnips."

"Anyway, since you lot aren't considerate enough to kill me, I'll go see if Minette will," Remus said, rising from his chair and walking out of the compartment. He walked down the corridor to the door they had seen her go through earlier. He walked in and found Minette sitting alone reading a copy of _A Guide to Medieval Sorcery_. She looked up when he entered and smiled.

"Hello! Looking for me?" She asked, still smiling.

"Yes, I was just making sure that you were okay in here and everything…isn't there anyone else in here?"

"Oh. I'm doing fine! I was just starting some of the reading for our History of Magic homework. I hate having to work over the summer, don't you?" Minette asked Remus.

"I don't really mind it that much, to be honest. There's not much to do other than clean and cook at my house," Remus answered. "Is someone else in here with you?"

"Oh, there's always things to do at my house! You'll see, I guess!" Minette stood up and continued to beam at Remus. "There are these little hills all over, and there are snowdrops growing, but we might be too late to see them. There are some nice dogwood trees, though, and they'll be blooming."

"Sounds lovely," Remus said. "Is there anyone else sitting in the compartment, Minette?"

Minette turned away from Remus to look out the window. "No, no one else is in here." She turned back toward Remus, her smile slightly faded. "Aren't you excited to come and meet my dad? You two will get along great, I imagine. He's been eager to meet you since I was writing letters to him about you and all."

"Minette, didn't anyone else come in to sit in here? Your friends or anyone at all?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"No. I haven't got any friends, really, other than you and James, Sirius and Peter," Minette's smile vanished.

"What do you mean, you haven't got any friends?" Remus asked, shocked. He hadn't thought about it before, but Minette was never really with any of the other girls. She was always with Remus or alone.

"None of the girls have ever really talked to me. Except one who told me that I was 'an evil snake who aught to be given a swift kick in the arse,'" Minette gave a small, very forced laugh.

"What? Why?" Remus asked, surprised at this news.

"Ah…they don't really like me since I get along with James and you all," Minette said quietly as she sat back down and looked out the window again. "Most of them have crushes on one of you, and they don't like me for going out with you. It's alright, though," she added, "I don't mind, of course. I'm not complaining! I'd rather be friends with you than with those shallow…"

"Minette, why didn't you say anything before?" Remus asked her. "And why do all the girls like Lily still?"

"I suppose because she had friends already. Really, though, I don't care! Don't make anything big of it!" Minette put on her false smile again.

"Alright…I guess. If that's what you want." Remus went back to the door. "I'll come back when we're getting nearer to the station, alright?" He walked back down the corridor to the compartment where James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting and opened the door to find Sirius and Peter sitting in their boxers and James with his head covered in chocolate. Sirius opened his mouth, grinning from ear to ear, but Remus cut him off. "I don't even want to know. Did you guys ever know that Minette has no other friends? Other than us, I mean?"

"What do you mean?" James asked. "She hangs out with the other girls…like that…um…actually, I think you're right."

"Didn't you guys ever notice that? She's always alone in the common room and rushes right over whenever we come in. No one ever wants to be her partner in classes; she eats alone at lunch until we come…" Peter said bluntly.

"What are you, stalking her, Wormtail?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow, pulling his pants on again.

"I guess you notice those things when they happened to you. Remember before I hung out with you? All of first year?" Peter pointed out.

"Vaguely," James responded. "Then came that glorious day when you fell off the Astronomy Tower and our lives became complete and a lot more cheese-filled."

"Hey, are there pits of fire opening up in the earth and monsters taking over all of mankind?" Sirius asked.

"What are you talking about, Padfoot?" Remus asked him.

"Well, I thought the apocalypse might be here, because Peter just actually caught onto something before the rest of us," Sirius explained jokingly. "Let's have a moment of silence."

"We can add it to his baby book: 'Petey's First Stroke of Intelligence,'" James grinned. "Do we have the camera?"

Peter turned a shade of red and the four laughed and talked away the afternoon, temporarily forgetting their problems and the rest of the world for just as long as they could manage.

At that moment, Remus could not have wished any more to disappear without a trace. Minette was leading him out of the train, and looking around for her father among the crowd of parents waiting for their children.

"There!" she told Remus, pointing to possibly the most sinister looking man on the face of the planet. He looked about twenty thousand feet tall to Remus, but was really only a foot or so taller than him, though very thin. He had long light brown hair pulled into a ponytail (probably to keep it out of his eyes while he was beating Remus into submission) and narrow glasses that he was looking through with vivid green eyes, seeming a lot like a hippogriff staring them down to Remus. "Dad!" Minette called to him, tugging Remus along by the sleeve as she rushed over to hug her father.

"Minet! There you are!" the unbelievably tall, evil-hippogriff man pushed through the crowd toward them, smiling. Although Remus was sure he was just trying to lure them into a false sense of security.

"Father, this is Remus Lupin," Minette introduced the two, and Remus tried to convince himself that stabbing sensation in his chest was not a heart attack. He gave a weak smile and shook hands with Minette's father. "Remus, this is my father."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Espoir," Remus managed.

"And you. I've heard of barely anything but you since Minette went to Hogwarts," he said, smiling the same way Minette always did. They were a very smile-y people, this family. "Can I help either of you with your bags, or anything?"

Remus shook his head no, but Minette gave him the cage of her tiny flammulated owl, Icarus. The three of them moved along, and Remus turned to wave good-bye to James and Sirius, who looked as though they were intensely enjoying seeing him in such extreme discomfort and pain.

"I hope you don't mind, it's a bit of a drive," Mr. Espoir said to Remus as left the station and settled themselves into his car. "How did exams and everything go?"

And so began the idle chat of doom, in a car trip that the horrors of which, Remus decided could be re-created in a three-hour film and become an instant hit among lovers of true terror.

That's all for now! I really hope you like it! Please, please review, even if it's saying how crappy I am or pointing out a mistake. It'll at least mean someone's reading this!


	12. Chapter 12

Remus sat with Minette and her father in a semi-awkward silence for dinner on his second night with them. So far, even with the eternity spent in the car coming back from the station, nothing had been brought up about Remus' lycanthropy. He wondered if Minette had told her father that he was a werewolf or kept it from him. Remus felt that it would be the wisest to wait until his last day here and tell Mr. Espoir then, but, unfortunately, the moon was waxing so he had to spend one full moon with them. Remus looked down at the peas his had been stabbing while he thought and found they had turned into a green paste. So he moved on to stabbing his carrots.

"Er- Remus, are you alright, there?" Mr. Espoir asked, seeing the hole-filled foods littering Remus' plate. "You seem rather distracted."

"Oh, no," Remus said quickly. "Well, actually, yes. I was wondering- I mean, well, did you know… did Minette ever tell you…"

Both father and daughter looked at Remus with a raised eyebrow. Remus tried to stop and straighten out what he was saying, but his mouth didn't seem to want to cooperate.

"I mean, about, I mean- that I'm a- a werewolf?" Remus finished with a wince and tried to gauge what Mr. Espoir's response was going to be, to no avail.

"Oh…that. Well, yes, of course she told me that you were a werewolf," Mr. Espoir replied uncomfortably. "That was rather the reason that I invited you here for part of the summer: to see if you were a good lad, I mean. I mean, not that I had any reason to think you weren't, but, you know, rumors fly, and you can't help wondering if they're true sometimes, right? Obviously, they aren't. I mean, not that I'm so quick to judge all werewolves by just you… because, we're all people, right? Not everyone's good or bad and… and…"

"I think Remus gets the point, Dad," Minette cut her father off, and he blushed slightly.

"Yes," Remus said, with a smile hiding at the corners of his mouth, now. "I was just wondering if you knew or… Also, the full moon's coming and did you have any place in mind where I could, um…change?"

"Oh, er, I suppose," Mr. Espoir said, thinking, "you could use the cellar. Would that be alright?"

"Yes, of course," Remus said politely before excusing himself and going to sleep.

The next morning Remus came out to find Minette reading the Daily Prophet with a frown and a look of worry spreading across her face.

"Good morning," Remus said to her, and she jumped in her seat.

"Remus! I didn't see you there!" Minette said quickly, putting on a false smile and shoving the Daily Prophet under the table. "Did you sleep well? What do you want for breakfast? Want some eggs? I'll make you some eggs!"

"Minette, is something wrong?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"Wrong? Of course not!" Minette said, still talking quickly and holding the paper farther under the table and out of view. "How about toast? Do you want some toast? I'll go get some bread." Minette stood and walked toward the cabinet, still holding the morning's copy of the Daily Prophet tightly in her hand.

Remus swept forward and snatched the newspaper from her hands. Minette spun around and lunged at it, but Remus darted backward and Minette ended up tripping and landing on the floor.

"What's so bad that's in here?" Remus asked skeptically, searching through the pages. "More deaths and attacks, of course… attack, attack, atta-" Remus cut off suddenly as his eyes fell upon an article he hadn't been expecting: a new piece of legislation had been passed, limiting werewolf rights. The main point seemed to be about not being able to get jobs at the Ministry, but there were other new laws restricting travel, salaries, marriage, and the list continued on to another page. Remus looked up and forced a smile.

"Well, at least they're still allowing me food, right?" Remus said in a voice that he had meant to be cheery but had ended up sounding bitter. Minette looked as though she were about to cry just from the look on Remus' face, so he turned and pretended to busy himself with straightening the things on the kitchen table.

"Don't- don't pay any attention to it, Remus," Minette said slowly. "It's just- they're all biased. They don't know how to approach anyone different from them, so they just try and keep everyone who they don't understand from getting near them. That's all it is…" She trailed off, and Remus turned and smiled at her.

"It's alright. It's not like this has come as a surprise, really," Remus said, bitter again, "This 'D.J. Umbridge' person has been trying to pass a law like this for years. He's already gotten a few passed on vampires, centaurs, giants, and other, er, half-breeds."

"Well he must have serious problems or something," Minette said, frowning. "He should learn that you can't solve your problems by moving them away and pretending they don't exist."

"Right, well," Remus said after a pause, searching for a change of subject, "do you want to get started on schoolwork later? Get it out of the way, early on, you know."

"Sure," said Minette, still looking slightly upset. "I need help with the Potions essay."

"Right. We should both research some job requirements, too. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm going to do after next year, are you?"

"Well," Minette started thoughtfully, "I was actually thinking about working in the Apparation Test Center in the Ministry. I really liked learning to apparate, and I hear they're rather short of staff at the moment, since most employees are devoting more time to the war, and all. I'd rather work with younger people and stay out of the war, anyway, and I'd be horrible at teaching. All I'm good at is Charms and I doubt Professor Flitwick is going anywhere anytime soon." Minette smiled. "But you really have no idea what you're going to do?"

"No, not really. I was thinking about getting into something at the Ministry, but I doubt I'd be able to do that, now. Maybe some job at Gringotts, or something…" Remus' voice trailed off as he tried to think of a job that would interest him. Nothing came to mind at all. Remus was shocked as he realized he hadn't thought much at all about getting a job. He really had no plan for anything after Howarts.

"We can look through some of those brochures later, too, okay?" Minette said, sensing Remus' uncertainty.

"Okay, then," Remus said, smiling and truly grateful at that moment to be with Minette.

I am truly sorry that I keep taking so long to update. I really would promise that another one's coming soon, but I would probably just break that promise, especially because school is starting up again. I really hope that you are all still reading, and please leave a review!


	13. Chapter 13

A few weeks later, Remus was wheeling his trunk through a small, beaten up house somewhere just outside of York. The sharp pop made by him Apparating had echoed through the house as he appeared in the hallway. The house seemed oddly still and quiet, and his voice echoed as he called out, "Dad?" When he had no response, he called out again and heard a faint response. Remus strode into the kitchen to see his father sitting with a cup of tea looking up at him.

"Hello, Dad," Remus greeted him. After a pause he added, "Are you well?"

"Hello," his father replied, standing to talk to him. "I'm just a bit tired, is all. I was waiting for you to come home to see that you're safe." Tired, Remus thought, was a grand understatement. His eyes seemed dull and a bit sunken, and his face looked thinner in a way that did not seem at all healthy.

"I'm sorry," Remus said quickly. "I should have come home sooner, not spent so much time at Minette's house, and-"

"Now, that's alright, I said I'm fine," his father cut him off, waving a hand and smiling weakly. "You can just help yourself to something to eat if you want, and I'm going to head off to bed. Good-night."

Remus watched his father leave the room and followed after him after washing his father's cup and putting it away. He climbed up the staircase, levitating his trunk in front of him, and turned into the spare bedroom. He lit a lamp, set down the trunk, and rummaged through his trunk for pajamas before giving up and deciding just to sleep in his clothes. He turned to find an envelope sitting on the bed, which he was sure had not been present before he turned around. He glanced around quickly for anyone else, but the room was small, and it was not hard to tell that it was empty. He took a step toward the bed and picked up the envelope. It was completely blank except for the words "For the eyes of Remus Lupin" written neatly on it. Remus held it a second longer before turning the envelope over and opening it. He found a piece of parchment inside with tidy, unfamiliar handwriting on it:

_Mr. Lupin:_

_In these difficult times, we find that it is hard to tell where our loyalties may fall. This is, of course, no matter to be taken lightly. We must all consider where the most benefits may be, and I believe you will agree that it is with us. We also would find many benefits in your assistance, not limiting our views as so many do today. Please consider our proposal; we will be noting your movements._

Remus read this note through twice, then looked back at the envelope which was sitting on the bed next to him to find the writing on it gone and replaced with a shimmering green Dark Mark.

Remus was awoken a minute later (though it was a miracle he was able to fall asleep in the first place) by a crash of splintering wood. He leapt up off of his bed and his head spun from the suddenness of the movement. He was already at the door and shaking his head groggily when he heard a shout from down the staircase.

"Come out! We know you're here!"

Remus stumbled out of his bedroom to see two men standing in the doorway to the house, amid a thousand chips of wood that were once the front door, with their wands drawn.

"Hey!" Remus called, his throat making the words scratchy and faint. He cleared his throat and called out again, though the men had already turned with their wands pointed straight at him, "There's no need for that! Who are you? What's going on here?"

"Do you live here?" the shorter one asked him in a booming voice.

"Of course I do! What're you doing here? Are you- are you from the Ministry?" Remus responded, his brain starting to catch up with the situation.

"The Dark Mark is currently over this house," the other man said in a suspicious tone. "You care to explain that?"

"I- what?" Remus asked incredulously. The room started to spin in front of him, and he gripped the railing of the stairway for balance.

Before anyone could get another word out, something had caught the back of his robes and jerked him backward into his room. The door slammed and locked behind him, and Remus fell onto the floor and slid further until he slammed into a wall. He saw a dark green wall of magic seal over the door before a tall, figure, hooded and masked stepped in front of him. Remus' mind was screaming at him, but both his confusion and sheer terror took the form of numbness spreading throughout his body. He bit his lip hard, to keep from shaking, then tilted his head up to look at the Death Eater before him.

"Good evening, friend," a disturbingly placid voice said from behind the mask as he slipped his wand back into his pocket. "I do believe you received our letter earlier." Remus nodded his head as much as his nerves would permit him to. "Well, that's good then. I expect that you have considered our proposal-"

Here he was cut off by a large bang from outside the door, although it sounded muffled and the door itself barely moved. After a moment, a scream was heard, and Remus recognized the voice vaguely as one of the Aurors who had been downstairs.

"-And I hope you've decided to accept our offer," the Death Eater continued coolly. Remus saw pale hands draw his wand once again and step closer to Remus to point it at his chest. "Well then?" he asked after a moment's silence.

Remus clamped his eyes shut and tried to think of any way to escape from this situation. He could feel an anti-Apparition barrier which the Death Eater had no doubt placed around the room, and tried to suppress his fear so that he could at least speak coherently.

"Who's died?" Remus finally asked the man in a low voice.

"I'm sorry?"

"Who did you kill? They said the Dark Mark was over the house, but no one's here except me and my-" Remus cut himself off as realization fell over him like cold water.

"The Dark Mark has been present since before you arrived," the Death Eater replied, an eerie touch of amusement in his voice. "Did you not realize? But of course, you Apparated in…"

"You," Remus breathed, "-you killed my father, and you actually expect me to join you?" Remus' fear had been forgotten. Something new was gripping him. A horrible, blinding mix of grief and rage was making him burn all over as he gripped the carpet tightly and had to force himself not to leap at the man, remembering that he didn't have his wand. "You pathetic, cowardice scum! You-"

Two things happened at once then: the Death Eater began to swoop down upon Remus, and the door of the room fell, in two pieces, onto the ground. The noise made by the second cause the Death Eater to twist around again, his legs bent, to see the shorter of the Aurors standing with his wand outstretched toward the Death Eater.

"_Flagr-_" the Death Eater started, jerking his wand through the air at the Auror. He never finished, though, because Remus' had taken the opportunity to lunge forward and sweep the Death Eater's legs out from under him, knocking him flat on his back. His wand fell out of his hand and Remus snatched it up and was instantly kneeling on the man's chest and pointing the wand at his throat.

Before Remus could begin to think of a curse powerful enough to do what he wanted to do to the man, the Auror had cried "Stupefy!" and Remus had to jump out of the way of a streak of red light which presently hit the Death Eater, who flew up a foot in the air from the force of the spell before smashing back onto the ground, unconscious.

"You alright?" the Auror asked Remus, striding across the room and offering Remus a hand to help him up off the floor (for, in jumping away from the curse, he had fallen over again).

"I- I suppose," Remus replied shakily. "What happened to the other one of you?" he asked, realizing the man was alone and the house was quiet. The Auror's face grew dark as he pulled Remus to his feet.

"Killed," he grunted. "By an inferius. I took care of _him_, though."

Remus suddenly remembered his father and the Dark Mark over the house, and rushed out of the room. If the house hadn't been in bad shape earlier that evening, it certainly wasn't improved by the fight. There was a hole in the wooden railing, and Remus saw a body laying at the bottom of it, sitting it a dark pool that made Remus turn away. Then he saw, at the end of the hallway, his father's lifeless body, his clothes ripped, and a path of dried blood running down his chin. Remus had fallen to his knees at his father's side before even realizing that he was walking to him, and put his hand uselessly on his father's sleeve.

"Was he," the Auror asked quietly, "your father?" Remus nodded stiffly, his face tightening and his eyes starting to sting. "I'm sorry." The man placed his hand on Remus' shoulder and Remus clamped his eyes shut, as if he could will away everything around him if only he couldn't see it. "Do you have anyone you can stay with?" the Auror asked him after a few minutes.

"Yes," Remus said, rising to his feet. Suddenly, he didn't have any feelings at all. Everything just seemed to exist around him, and he kept himself focused on where he was going to go now in hopes of impeding the return of any realization that he was standing by his father's dead body.

"Well, then," the man said, his voice still gentle, but now more businesslike, "I'll need you to come back here tomorrow first thing in the morning, alright? Can you tell me your name and where you're planning to go here?" He handed Remus a quill and something to write on and Remus absentmindedly wrote down Minette's address, the first that came to mind, and his own name, as he was instructed. "Do you need any help getting there?" the Auror asked him once he had finshed.

"No, I'll be…fine," Remus said, not believing he could manage those words truthfully.

"Alright, goodnight, then. My name's Elphias, by the way. Sure you'll be alright?" he asked again sharply, as Remus swayed a bit and steadied himself on the wall.

"Yes… I'll be going now." Remus walked quickly to his room and grabbed the handle of his trunk, calling out "Good-bye" loudly before disapparating once again to the still and quiet of Minette's house.

I am so, so, so, so sorry it's taken me this long to update. I am, by no means, quitting writing _FL_, and I hope you're all still reading this (although if you aren't, I'm not really talking to anyone), and I hope you liked this new chapter! It was a bit more action-y and a lot more depressing than others have been (at least I think so), but I hope you like it still, so please R&R! I'll get up the next chapter in a shorter time, I promise!


	14. Chapter 14

Minette glanced worriedly at Remus, then turned her attention back to the stove. Remus hadn't moved for an hour now, and Minette had no idea how to rouse him from the trance he seemed to be in. After rushing out of bed to find him stumbling through the hallway the night before, Minette had gotten a stammered explanation from Remus about the night's events. She had woken up again this morning, vaguely hoping that it had all been a nightmare when Remus wasn't on her bed in the morning. Her hopes had been quickly dissolved when she emerged to find Remus sitting at the kitchen table, clutching a mug and staring at it with a look that told Minette that he was far, far away in his mind. When she had spoken to him, he had nodded and mumbled replies, but Minette quickly gave up on conversation, deciding that some situations just needed silence, and this was one of them. Compulsively turning to cooking when nothing else was working was a proud Espoir-famliy tradition, which Minette decided to take up that morning.

After what could have been minutes or hours with no way to tell, Minette heard a door closing and the footsteps of her father coming toward the kitchen. He shuffled into the kitchen, staring blearily out from behind his glasses and sniffing the air hopefully.

"Minet? Are you making bac-" he started before starting at sight of Remus sitting at the table. "Remus? 'S that you? What are you doing back?"

"I…" Remus began, looking up from his coffee mug. "Last night," he tried again, but Minette cut in.

"Yes! Yes I am making bacon!" she said just a little too loudly. She turned off the burner and stepped toward her father. "And good thing you're here, because… because…" She took a great gulp and looked down, seeming to realize that this was one of those times when you just couldn't fill the void with chatter. "I'm sorry…" she mumbled. "I'll explain it to you, Dad." She cast a glance back in Remus' direction.

Remus nodded slightly and gave Minette a weak smile. "I need to be, er, going anyway. I've got that meeting for…" His look became distant again, and he shook his as though to clear it. "I'll… I'll be back later, so see you then?"

Minette gave Remus another small smile before leading her father out of the room. Remus turned and disapparated.

For all the worlds and ages that seemed to have passed, it was still early in the morning. Remus stood outside of his house once more, taking a deep breath and not allowing himself to look up before walking through the door.

It was odd what you notice when you actually take a good look at a familiar place. You think you know everything about your room or your pet or your best friend, and then one day you notice that they've got a chair or a spot or a moustache that you could have sworn wasn't there the day before. Remus noticed for the first time how spectacularly clean everything in the house was. It was almost eerie how calm and still and perfect everything was until Remus' eyes would drift over a smashed table here, and scorches on the walls there, and the smashed railing of the staircase jutting out in front of him, and reality would hit him like a bludger to the face.

Remus took a step forward onto a creaking floorboard and suddenly found a wand pressed to his throat. The other person almost immediately let him go, and Remus recognized him as the Auror, Elphias, from the night before.

"Sorry, there, didn't realize it was you," the Auror apologized hastily. "Ready to go, then?"

"What? Go where?" Remus asked dazedly.

"The Ministry, of course, for questioning," he replied impatiently, gripping Remus' arm tightly and steering him around so they were standing side-by-side. Before Remus could even think of a reply, they were Apparating and Remus couldn't have gotten a word out if he wanted to. Remus was lead from the main room by the Auror, who still had a firm grip on Remus' arm sooner than he could take in even the sparkling fountain or the gleaming floors in front of him. He was led to the elevator and stood alone with Elphias, and Remus felt that the time had long since passed for any conversation between them, even if either had been willing.

Presently they stepped off the elevator and down a wide hallway to a small room with several chairs up against the far wall and one set in the middle of the room. A small, slightly cluttered desk was pushed into the corner, and another wizard was leaning against the wall next to it, and stood up quickly when Remus entered with Elphias behind him.

"About time," the other wizard sighed. "You- Remus- sit there." He pointed at the chair. "Doge- a moment before we start?"

Remus sat obediently as the two wizards turned their backs to him and talked for a moment, their voices low so that Remus could only catch an occasional word of their conversation.

"Yes…right away, but first…yes…did you know?"

"Werewolf? …Well, yes then…blimey…"

Remus' stomach dropped. They knew. Of course they knew. Both of the wizards were casting odd glances quickly over their shoulders, as though trying to see if Remus was going to suddenly transform before their eyes. Remus had long since learned to shrug off this kind of behavior from strangers, but something else was gnawing away at him. What if they thought that he had planned all of this? What if they believed he had been working with the Death Eaters? Remus' hands began shaking badly as he thought of everything that this would lead to: a life in Azkaban, never seeing his friends again, never seeing Minette again…

Remus gripped his hands tightly together in his lap and stared at them as his knuckles turned white. He just had to stay calm. He was innocent. They surely wouldn't be able to get enough proof to convict an innocent man? The Auror had been there, had seen the Death Eaters threatening Remus, had seen Remus' pain. But even as he thought this all, there was a part of him that didn't believe any of it. He remembered the letter from the Death Eaters and the looks that the wizards in the room had just given him. He tried to suppress panic as the night before flashed through his mind for the thousandth time since it had happened, searching for some solid proof in his favor.

Remus was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly jumped out of his seat when the Aurors began talking to him. He could barely register Elphias Doge's words, but distantly realized that the wizard was talking uncomfortably about Veritaserum when the other wizard grabbed Remus' head and roughly poured a few drops down Remus' throat. As the vaguely bitter liquid rolled down Remus throat, the questioning began.

As always, I'm horribly, horribly sorry that I'm taking so long between chapters, but I'm busy and have had writer's block and my brain is going into denial as we're getting closer and closer to the end of "Fleeting Love." I'm fairly sure that I've lost most of my readers with my sporadic updating, but, hopefully, I'll gain some new ones. And, if not, I'm really only doing this to contribute my little perspective on the HP universe, and if no one else appreciates that, I'll live on.

If you don't want another rant like that one, or if you just have some opinion, good or bad, about the story, remember to leave a review!


	15. Chapter 15

Remus's head still had a trace of fog drifting through it when he was finally allowed to leave the messy little Ministry office an hour later. He reached the end of the hallway and jammed the elevator button rather numbly, trying to settle the mess of thoughts and memories that were still under the influence of Veritaserum and threatening to spill out at the slightest provocation, whether Remus wished it or not. It was easier now, than in the office, but Remus had the distinct feeling that if anyone asked him even the time of day he might feel compelled to give his life's story to the person along with it. The elevator arrived mercifully empty, and Remus stepped in breathing a sigh of relief, only to have the Auror Doge stick his hand in front of the closing door and hurry in next to Remus.

Remus clamped his jaw shut and willed away the remaining effects of the Veritaserum, which were, admittedly, fading with each moment. Remus was just wishing that Doge wouldn't say anything to him, but he didn't think that there was much chance of that, really.

"I'm really sorry about all of that. Having to use the veritaserum, I mean."

_Damn._

"That's…alright," Remus managed through clenched teeth.

"Are you…Oh." Doge had a look of dawning comprehension. "The Veritaserum isn't though your system yet, then?"

"Not yet," Remus answered compulsively, though he had enough control to give a nasty edge to his voice.

"Look, I know it may not seem like it, but I'm really on your side, alright? Come on, then, Dumbledore will explain it, if he's there."

"I- Dumbledore? What?" Remus asked dumbly, shocked out of any witty answer he had been formulating by this mention of Dumbledore. The elevator doors slid open, and Doge walked out. Remus shot out as the doors were closing, hurrying after Doge. "Hey, what were you talking about Du-"

"I said you'll hear it straight from him if you'll just come on," muttered the Auror. He stopped and turned to face Remus. "Listen, son, I want to know, are you ready to join the fight, Remus? Dumbledore thinks you'll be able to do something, but I still think you're all too young. I'm completely convinced that you're for our side, don't get me wrong; that's clear, especially after our questioning just now, but just because you're _willing_ to do something doesn't mean you actually _will_, when it gets down to it. Enough of "our" men our spies to prove that. So, basically are you ready to _do_ whatever you can to help and to face the consequences?"

Remus was stunned again, and had no idea what half of what the Auror in front of him had said meant, but the point got through: was Remus ready to face the people who killed his father and countless others for the "purification" of the wizard race? Was he willing to give the world to save the rest of the people he cared about? Remus nodded, his face set and his eyes locked on Doge's. "I am."

Doge gave a curt nod, turned, and continued walking toward the exit as though there had been no interruption. Both of the men seemed more relaxed, though, and Remus even found a bit of hope shining through the despair that he had never thought would be lifted only a few hours ago. Doge gripped Remus' arm again and asked "Ready?" before they were once again wisking away to an unfamiliar place.

From the amount of shocks and new information that Remus was receiving, he didn't ever think his head would stop spinning. He had just been told all about the Order of the Phoenix by Dumbledore, and was trying very hard to sort all of the new turns his life had taken over the past few days. Dumbledore had just finished explaining it all to him, and was now shaking Remus' hand and apologizing for having to leave so soon.

"Right. …Thank you," Remus said awkwardly. "Really. For everything." Dumbledore just smiled and nodded his head to Remus before turning and leaving the room.

Remus decided that he did not need to be in the busy headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and suddenly remembered that Minette was probably waiting for him. He Apparated to the kitchen of her house again, and just stood still, his mind churning, for only a moment before an entirely different kind of person had knocked him over onto the ground in a fierce hug.

To Remus' unending surprise, this person didn't have long, light hair or a small, sympathetic voice, but a shaggy black tail and a very cold nose. This person also happened to be licking his face in what Remus only could assume was intended to be a comforting gesture, but was actually quite disgusting.

"Sirius- get- OFF!" Remus yelped, trying to squirm out from under his friend's massive black paws. "What're- what're yo- FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SIRIUS, STOP LICKING ME!"

"There's something I didn't need to hear, ever." Messy black hair and long red hair entered the room. They probably had bodies, too, Remus thought, but it was hard to tell with the mass of black fur still occupying most of his field of vision.

"Come on, then, Sirius, let him breathe, at least," James grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him up, Sirius toppling to the side and transforming back into a human simultaneously, and pulled a bright red Remus into a tight hug. They were still for a moment before someone coughed loudly.

"And what were you saying about me? At least I have the excuse of being a dog. You're shameless, James," Sirius said teasingly, rolling his eyes. Then he punched Remus playfully on the arm, putting on a tone of mock-distress, "And you, you big tease! Did I mean nothing to you? So many wasted licks!"

Remus looked helplessly over at Lily, who was talking with Minette now, while Sirius and James tugged on either of his arms.

"No, it's alright," Minette was saying, "When you hang out with those four enough you get used to walking in on your boyfriend in another man's arms." Minette wrinkled her brow while Lily gave a wide smile. "I'm not sure that came out exactly how I meant it to…"

"No, that's pretty accurate, actually," Lily said, still smiling, while Remus turned slightly pink and finally wrenched himself free of his two friends, fleeing over to Minette and kissing her on the cheek quickly before being taken down by another flying hug-tackle from a now human Sirius, James close on his heels. Sirius kicked back James and looked down at Remus, who was seeing a few stars swimming by Sirius' face in front of him.

"So, seriously, mate, are you alright?" Sirius asked in a suddenly serious tone. Painful thoughts and memories tried to nip at the edge of Remus' mind, but he found it utterly impossible to feel the least bit bad with Sirius laying on top of him, James clawing at Sirius' still-kicking legs, and Minette and Lily staring down at all of them, rolling their eyes exasperatedly.

"I'm…alright," Remus said with a somber face. They all froze for a minute, everyone seeming to hold their breath on Remus' behalf. Not being able to hold it in for a single second more, Remus burst out laughing. He pushed Sirius off of his chest and struggled to a sitting position against the wall. The rest of them followed suit, except for Sirius, who was looking rather put out.

"S'what I get for trying to be _serious_ for once," Sirius muttered, giving in to a smirk and then laughing with the rest. Remus pulled himself to his feet and looked around at the rest of them.

"So," he started, noticing an absence among them, "where's Peter?"

"Oh, he's been terribly sick, lately," James answered solemnly. "He said to send his regrets, though, he said he really wished he could be here."

"And how did the rest of you get here? I mean, how did you know to come?"

"Minette owled us, of course!" Lily said with a smile.

"That's right, she did what you should've already done!" Sirius interjected, half solemn, half teasing. "We're your best mates, you should've told us first thing!"

"It hasn't even been a day yet!" Remus said, trying to look exasperated but failing from the smile on his face. "But…thanks. To all of you. Really." And with that, Remus scooped the four of them up into as tight of a hug as he could make with his arms not reaching each other.

"You're turning into a bloody woman," Sirius muttered half-heartedly, but none of them put up any struggle. The group showed no sign of separating, in fact, until a very confused voice made them all jump.

"Would you people at least tell me when you decide to make random visits to my house?" Mr. Espoir was standing in the doorway giving the lot of them a perplexed and only slightly annoyed look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Daddy, they've just all gotten here and got caught up in greeting Remus and all…" Minette took a few steps toward her father and then turned to point at each of the others in the room. "This is James, Sirius, and Lily, our friends from school. I owled them earlier and they of course came over and I really was just about to tell you, I swear, but, er, we got… distracted, and…"

"It's alright, it's alright," Mr. Espoir said. "Nice to meet you all. I've heard about you, of course, from Minette, and I think I'm going to go back into my study now, and give you all your peace." He sighed and smiled at them all, then turned and left the room just as suddenly as he'd entered. Minette had a pink tinge to her cheeks and the rest of them stood there in silence for a moment before Sirius finally broke it.

"So…who wants to go get drunk?"

Another chapter up in decent timing, so I hope you all enjoyed it! It's actually the longest chapter yet, if you'll believe it, which surprised me to find out, because I wrote it all rather quickly and spur-of-the-moment. I'm spending a lot more time on this summer than I ever thought I was going to, but important things are getting done, and more important Minette-related things will be happening soon, possibly even next chapter! Anyway, I hope you like it, and don't forget to leave a review!


	16. Chapter 16

"Cheers!"

The five students were gathered around a table at the Leaky Cauldron, drinking to the end of a very long summer and the impending beginning of their final year at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe we're almost done with school! It seems like I've just joined," said Minette, who was sitting in the corner next to Remus and nursing a White Russian.

"You did just join," Lily pointed out giggling.

"Oh, right," Minette looked put out for a moment, but then began giggling, too, her cheeks slightly pink.

"A'right, a'right, a toast!" Sirius shouted suddently, springing up from his seat, firewhiskey in hand. "To the besht of friends and the greatest that Hogwarts'll ever see, at that!"

"'Till our kids're all here, at least!" James interjected, jumping up, himself, next to Sirius and throwing an arm around his friend's shoulders. Lily blushed, but raised up her Gillywater in the toast, nonetheless.

"Hear, hear!" the rest of them cheered, each throwing back a swig of their own drinks. They sat and continued talking and laughing for the evening before leaving the table and heading up to their rooms again.

They had decided to stay the last few nights of summer holiday together in the Leaky Cauldron to enjoy the end of summer together and to get all of their new school supplies. Besides, Sirius had pointed out they were spending every evening together anyway ever since they had all come together for Remus, and no one had anything better to do with the days, really. Sirius was staying with James, who also had had Lily for a houseguest since the beginning of August, and, of course, Remus had been staying with Minette and Mr. Espoir since his father's death. None of them had seen Peter at all since the start of the summer until Sirius and James had taken Sirius' motorbike a few weeks ago to surprise Peter. They'd only caught him briefly, as his mother had shooed them away, insisting that Peter was sick and very contagious and needed his rest.

Minette and Remus parted with the other three at the bottom of the staircase that lead up to the rooms and were soon strolling down Diagon Alley, the hazy twilight around them signaling the ending day. Several of the shops were starting to close down, and it seemed that only couples were left wandering down the cobbled lane. Minette sighed and rested her head on Remus' shoulder.

"It's such a lovely evening," Minette murmured happily.

"Mmm," Remus agreed. "I wish we didn't have to end this and go back to school and all."

"Too true. It's so nice, just being like this, you know?" Minette said, stifling a yawn.

"I wish it could just stay this way."

Minette stopped walking and stiffened a bit, and her hold on Remus' arm caused him to stop, as well.

"What is it?" Remus asked concernedly.

"Did you mean that?" Minette said rather quickly.

"What?"

"That you wish…that we could stay this way?"

"Yes, I suppose," Remus replied, startled. "What are you getting at?" Minette spun around to face Remus and took his hands, looking resolutely into his eyes.

"Marry me."

"What?" Remus asked, his eyes widening as he took a small, involuntary step backwards. He didn't know what he had expected Minette to say, but it certainly was not that.

"You heard me. Marry me, Remus, please." Minette was still staring into his eyes with a kind of soft firmness that made Remus want to say yes, yes, a thousand times, yes and kiss her and whisk her away to some mansion where they could live forever and ever. Unfortunately Remus' brain did not allow him this kind of impulsiveness, and rationality caught up with him.

"We-we can't," Remus gasped. "There're the laws against, remember? I'm a werewolf?"

"Who cares? So…so maybe we won't be officially married. We'll just have the ceremony and say we're married and who will argue with us?" Minette stepped forward toward Remus.

"There's a war on, you know!" Remus yelped frantically.

"Exactly! Who knows how long we have left together… and I want to spend all the time I can with you."

"But we're still in school!" Remus flailed, stepping back again. "When…How…?"

"We can wait until we're out of school! I can wait a year or two or three… I just want to be with you." Another step forward.

"Are you sure? I'm poor," Remus said bluntly. Another step backwards. "I'm dangerous. Wouldn't you want-"

"No, I wouldn't. I want you, Remus! I don't care if you're poor, don't be ridiculous. You're the person I want to marry, exactly the way you are. Unless you just don't want to marry me…" Minette's face fell. She took a step backwards, away from Remus. Remus rushed towards Minette and did kiss her this time, taking her tightly in his arms and twirling the two of them about.

"Of course I want to marry you," Remus murmured softly, pressing his forehead against Minette's. "I just- I just wanted to make sure, that's all. I don't get too many good things in my life, so I try not to mess up the ones I do have." Minette kissed Remus and returned his embrace.

"Don't try so hard."

"Ooh- I- this- I _can't believe we're engaged!_"

Minette and Remus were heading back up to their rooms now, and Minette was practically jumping up and down from ecstasy. Remus, sharing in his part of the happiness, too, was keeping a tight grip around Minette's waist and had whirled her around to kiss her at random several times already. Both of them were smiling like the giddy fools they were.

"I love you, Minette," Remus said for perhaps the hundredth time in the past fifteen minutes, kissing her on the side of her head.

"I love you, too, Remus," Minette said contentedly, relazing and leaning her head against Remus' shoulder. After just a few moments, though, she sprang back to life again. "Oh! I _must_ tell my father! I'll owl him- no, that's too impersonal, of course- I'll _floo_ him!"

As they reached the room, Minette rushed in and fell back onto her bed. Her cheeks were tinged pink and her whole face seemed to be flushed. She seemed to have been bursting with energy and joy as they were walking back, but now she was lying unmoving on the bed with her arms thrown straight out and her eyes closed. Her chest was still rising and falling rapidly, though, and that smile was surely set into her face for life. There seemed to be a glow about her at this moment that had penetrated even Remus and that sheer bliss that he always seemed to feel whenever Minette was happy had filled Remus to the brim so he thought he must be glowing, too. Remus sat down on the bed beside her and put his hand on hers. She immediately sat up again and beamed at Remus.

"I'll floo Dad, then!" Minette said, rising to her feet.

"Right. I should tell the others," Remus added rather absently as he stood up, as well.

"Of course! Yes!" Minette babbled, as if she'd only just remembered them. "You should tell them! I'll come and join you, then, when I'm done!"

And with that, Minette pecked Remus on the cheek one last time, did a sort of floppy pirouette, and fluttered from the room. Remus blinked, took a deep breath, and followed suit, smiling athat he always seemed to feel whenever Minette was happy had filled Remus to the brim so he thought he must be glowing, too.

Here's a nice happy chapter I know you all have been wanting! This is a big moment in the story, obviously, and I wanted to get it perfect, so…I hope you like it. I really wanted it to end after the first break, but I couldn't bear to put up a chapter with only 800-some words in it, so I included that end bit, as well.

Looking back, actually, it seems that all of the chapters with major Remus-Minette moments have been the shortest ones coughChapters8through10cough. So…sorry about that, I didn't know I was doing it!

In other news, this is officially the longest author's note ever, so I hope you liked it and don't forget to leave a review! Reviews tend to inspire me to write, though you may not be able to tell judging from the dates because hpff takes two weeks to get a chapter up. Anyway, really, I hope you're liking the story still!


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